Showing results for "Black" in Historical

A Black porter publicly whips a White English gentleman in a Gloucestershire manor house. A heavily pregnant African woman is abandoned on an Indonesian island by Sir Francis Drake. A Mauritanian diver is dispatched to salvage lost treasures from the Mary Rose.... Miranda Kaufmann reveals the absorbing stories of some of the Africans who lived free in Tudor England.

Art T. Burton sifts through fact and legend to discover the truth about one of the most outstanding peace officers in late 19th-century America - and perhaps the greatest lawman of the Wild West era. Fluent in Creek and other Southern native languages, physically powerful, skilled with firearms, and a master of disguise, Bass Reeves was exceptionally adept at apprehending fugitives and outlaws, and his exploits were legendary in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Bloomsbury presents The Black Prince by Michael Jones, read by Hamilton McLeod. A major new biography of the Black Prince. 'A clear-eyed and thrilling vision of the man behind the legend' DAN JONES. 'Pacy, vivid and extremely readable' TLS. In 1346, at the age of sixteen, he won his spurs at...

Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. Who was the real Count of Monte Cristo? In this extraordinary biography, Tom Reiss traces the almost unbelievable life of the man who inspired not only Monte Cristo, but all three of the Musketeers: the novelist's own father. Born in St Dominigue in 1762, the son of a French nobleman and a sugar plantation slave, General Alexandre Dumas did not have an auspicious start in life.

In Search Of Black History with Bonnie Greer brings you face-to-face with the people you never knew existed. People whose stories tell us a different tale about who we all are. From the earliest glimmerings of modern humanity, up to the present day, Bonnie Greer uncovers the lives of people of African descent that don't fit with the accepted history of Western Civilisation we've traditionally been taught. From saints, to philosophers, to warrior women and king's heralds - these people's lives have been lost, hidden and distorted down the centuries. We've lost the full richness and complexity of our shared histories - it's time to fill in the gaps.

Mark Mathabane was weaned on devastating poverty and schooled in the cruel streets of South Africa’s most desperate ghetto, where bloody gang wars and midnight police raids were his rites of passage. Like every other child born in the hopelessness of apartheid, he learned to measure his life in days, not years. Yet Mark Mathabane, armed only with the courage of his family and a hard-won education, raised himself up from the squalor and humiliation to win a scholarship to an American university.

Brought to you by Penguin. Shortlisted for THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION, 2020 The Haitian Revolution began in the French Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue with a slave revolt in August 1791, and culminated a dozen years later in the proclamation of the world's first independent...

The traveling criminal known as Jack Black was born in 1872 and disappeared in 1932. His matter-of-fact autobiography was a major influence on William S. Burroughs and other Beat writers. In this plainspoken but colorful memoir, he recaptures a hobo underworld of the early 20th century, a time when it was possible to pass anonymously from town to town. Black's firsthand accounts of hopping trains, burglaries, prison, and drug addiction offer a compelling portrait of life outside the law and honor among thieves.

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A “richly imagined biography” (The New York Times Book Review) of General Alex Dumas, who rose from slavery to command vast armies in the French Revolutionary Wars—and whose exploits were immortalized in his son’s novels The Count...

Born as the heir to the English Throne, the Black Prince was trained from a young age to be king. Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince, had other ideas. His love for chivalry, knighthood, and combat brought him on campaigns all over Europe. How did he become known as the Black Prince? What caused his stunning victories against the numerically superior French? How did the Black Prince almost get himself into financial ruin? Why was he the scourge of the French? In this book, we explore every detail of the action-packed life of Edward, the Black Prince.

Bloomsbury presents The Black Russian by Vladimir Alexandrov, read by Ben Onwukwe. The extraordinary story of Frederick Bruce Thomas, the son of former slaves who fled America to build a life in Tsarist Russia. 'A fascinating tale' Anne Applebaum 'Thoroughly enjoyable' Spectator 'Extraordinary...

The Onion’s Baratunde Thurston shares his 30-plus years of expertise in being black, with helpful essays like “How to Be the Black Friend,” “How to Speak for All Black People,” “How To Celebrate Black History Month,” and more, in this satirical guide to race issues—written for...

The first-born son of his generation, Peter Balakian grew up in a close, extended family, sheltered by 1950s and '60s New Jersey suburbia. He was immersed in an all-American boyhood defined by rock 'n' roll, adolescent pranks, and a passion for the New York Yankees that he shared with his beloved grandmother. But beneath this sunny world lay the dark specter of the trauma his family and ancestors had experienced: the Turkish government's extermination of more than a million Armenians.

What would life be like for a Black boy growing up in Nazi Germany? This unprecedented autobiography answers that question with the spellbinding true story of Hans J. Massaquoi’s life in Hamburg during the height of Hitler’s regime. Hans is the son of a Black Liberian diplomat father and a white German mother. His father returns to Africa at the beginning of the war, leaving them behind in poverty without the means to flee. Within this tense atmosphere, increasingly violent Nazi policies and Allied bombing raids make Hans and his mother’s lives a day-to-day survival struggle.

History is filled with people who stood up for what they believed in, facing countless adversity but staying strong in their beliefs – and in the end, changing the world. Now, this biography uncovers the lives and legacies of some of the most famous and beloved black influencers, from the incredible Martin Luther King Jr. to Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, and Harriet Tubman. You’ll discover the lives they lived, the hardships they encountered, and the powerful changes they left in their wake.

The word cowboy conjures up vivid images of rugged men on saddled horses - men lassoing cattle, riding bulls, or brandishing guns in a shoot-out. White men, as Hollywood remembers them. What is woefully missing from these scenes is their counterparts: the Black cowboys who made up one-fourth of the wranglers and rodeo riders. This book tells their story. 

A Thief and a Hero tells the extraordinary story of Gentle Johnny Ramensky: the son of Lithuanian immigrant parents who went on to become a household name as the foremost safe-blower in the country. His daring escapes from prison would further endear him to the public and eventually bring him to the attention of the British army. When the Second World War broke, he was hand-picked to join the Commandos and rechristened himself Ramsay.

'Today, Gordon’s words are simple and heartfelt. He promises, as his own school motto said, "to do his utmost". I know that the same will go for me, too. We turn to the door, greeting the policeman on duty. It is time to play our part in contributing to what happens next in government and a new life behind the black door.' In this personal memoir about life at 10 Downing Street, Sarah Brown shares the secrets of living behind the most famous front door in the world.

"The golden age of piracy" generally refers to the era when history's most famous pirates roamed the seas of the West Indies from 1670-1720.

Joseph Laroche was an anomaly among the passengers of the Titanic. He was exceptionally well-educated in a time when few Black men had access to an education - and when even fewer were able to travel on a luxurious ship in first or second class. When his family arrived in the United States without him after the Titanic's tragic crash, they were received well along with the other survivors and even sponsored by a wealthy New York heiress. Who was Joseph Laroche? Where was he going, and what was his story? This biography recounts the life of Joseph Laroche.